Bring Gambling To Texas

I walked up to a machine last Friday, put a couple of bucks into it, and a few seconds later I knew whether I had got lucky or not (I did not). I then went hey......what's going on here? Yes, I was at a Lottery kiosk in one of our local supermarkets and it hit me like a ton of bricks. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY NO DIFFERENT THAN A SLOT MACHINE. More after the jump.

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With a slot machine you put your money in, the tumblers spin, the random number generator inside pulls and number and you either win or lose (and yes most of the time you lose). With a lottery kiosk you get a slip a paper and you rub off to see if you won anything, which when you think of it is kind of wasteful. So what is the difference? Uh, none. Sure the lottery helps support schools, but so could a slot machine. Wouldn't it be nice to go to say the Depot District, pop over to the casino for a few drinks and a few spins, then go see a live band? It sounds like something I'd actually get off my butt to do. Right now Texans take huge chunks of money over the border to New Mexico (for which I say THANK YOU for giving us the opportunity) while others go to Vegas. What? You mean you didn't know that all those flights going to Vegas weren't empty? You didn't know that there are real Texans who want to enjoy adult activities and can still be responsible human beings?

I guess the title of this blog shouldn't have been "bring gambling to Texas", it should have been, "bring casino gaming to Texas". Somewhere along the line some politician or preacher decided that the lottery is somehow different than casino gaming. I guess I can go along with that slightly; casino gaming is more fun, more exciting and employs more people in the towns where the casinos are located instead of sending all the money to Austin.

It's time Texans quit acting like big mamas boys that have to be watched constantly. We can make our own decisions on what is good or bad for us. We can decide what we want to enjoy responsibly. We can quit taking our money to other states to do something that might employ a few people right here in our own backyards. There's Elvis slotmachines, I want to see Buddy Holly and Southfork/Dallas slot machines! More than anything else, I want the option to decide for myself what is right and wrong for my life.